Crime wave or crusade? The gnome war continues

Garden gnomes make unlikely political pawns. Yet in France these small ceramic figurines (beloved by some gardeners as whimsical ornaments) are being stolen- or rescued, depending on your politics- only to reappear in unexpected places: teetering on cliffs, stranded on motorways, even huddled aboard rafts on lakes. They are victims of an ongoing cultural war started by Le Front de Liberation des Nainas de Jardin (FLNJ)- the Liberation Front for Garden Gnomes.

The seven-person group, founded in Alencon, Normandy, has made headlines since 1995 when, clad in gnomish blue tunics, they launched their first mission. "We are fighting against bad taste, as embodied by the garden gnome of the proletariat household," says their leader, code-named Prof (French for "Doc," after Snow White's small friend). The FLNJ takes "imprisoned" gnomes to forests, where they undergo a "liberation ritual." In a bizarre twist on the witness protection program, they repaint the gnomes to drastically alter their appearance.

The FLNJ has inspired both opponents and imitators. One German group abducts gnomes and then sends their owners snapshots of them taken at famous landmarks around the world. The Swiss International Association for the Protection of Garden gnomes publishes Garden Gnome Gazette, devoted to the study of gnomes (nanology), while France's Movement for the Emancipation of Garden Gnomes says the FLNJ are "kidnapping criminals" committing "acts of terrorism."

For manufacturers of the little fellows, the controversy is proving lucrative: French gnome production has increased sixfold. As for the victims, not one of the abducted gnomes returned our calls.

Edited by Stephen Whitlock